The one that got away
by Skovko
Summary: A year ago Brandy escaped her psycho ex. She always knew he would come back for her but she didn't know he would send out three hounds to track her down. Now the day has arrived where she can no longer hide.
1. Catching the prey

Three sets of eyes stared at the dark mansion. They were sitting in their car at the edge of the forest just watching the place. They had driven slow through the forest with the headlights turned off so no one would see them approaching.

"Are you sure she's in there?" Roman asked.  
"Of course. It took me months to track her down but she's in there," Dean said.  
"Don't question him. You know he's a fucking bloodhound when it comes to tracking down anybody," Seth said.  
"She might not be listed on the address but I've seen her. I followed her here. She lives here even though it belongs to some guy," Dean said.

Dean took a photo from his back pocket and handed it over to the other two.

"For good measure, she's the one. Register the face in case someone else is in there," he said.  
"Does she have a name?" Roman asked.  
"Brandy," Dean answered.

For a little while they just sat there staring into the darkness.

"I don't think she's home yet," Roman said.

As on cue a light turned on in one of the windows upstairs.

"Bingo!" Dean said and pointed.  
"Alright, what are our orders?" Roman asked.  
"Get her alive but use any means necessary," Seth answered.  
"So he doesn't mind if we end up hurting her a bit?" Roman asked.  
"Any means necessary. That's what he said. As long as she's alive, he doesn't really care what we do," Seth answered.  
"This is gonna be so much fun," Dean said.  
"Just remember we don't know if anybody else is in there with her," Roman said.  
"We'll spread out as always. I'll take downstairs while you two go upstairs," Seth said.

They left the car and quietly made their way through the darkness towards the mansion. As expected the front door was locked but as always it didn't take Dean many seconds to pick it. He stuck out his tongue and grinned when he opened the door.

"Come to daddy," he whispered as he got up to stand.

He took the first step inside with Seth and Roman following after him. Without a sound they started making their way through the place. Seth stayed downstairs while Roman and Dean quietly walked up the stairs. Once they reached the top, Roman pointed to the right to make Dean go that way while he turned left himself.

Dean didn't mind being sent in the direction of the room where they had seen the light go on. Spending months tracking her down and finally succeeding had him wanting to be the one to get his hands on her. Some sick pleasure to be the one catching the prey. He walked quietly down the hall, turned a corner and saw the light coming from the room at the end. The door was open and he could see it was a bathroom.

He slowly crept towards the room. Once he reached the door opening, he could see a black dress laying on top of the closed lid to the toilet. He took a step inside and saw her right away. She was standing in black underwear in front of the mirror. She reached her hands up as if she was about to release the sofisticated hairdo she had.

He let his eyes run down her body while he wet his lips. He didn't notice that she had stopped her original plan and moved her hand to the side to take something from the shelf next to her. His eyes ran back up her body again and he was taken aback for a second when he met her eyes in the mirror. She was watching him. Before he could say or do anything she swung around and her arm went forward so fast. He felt a sharp pain in his upper arm and looked down to see blood running. He looked back to her to see her standing with a razor in her hand. Before he could react, she took off running away from him.

"Motherfucker!" He shouted loudly.

Both Seth and Roman were alerted by his loud voice. She ran out in the hallway as fast as she could. She turned the corner and ran towards the stairs. She stopped on top of it as she saw a man moving up towards her. She raised her hand with the razor but he just grinned and continued upwards.

She slowly started moving backwards, quickly looking over her shoulder, knowing there was another man down in her bathroom. He wasn't there yet though. The man on the stairs had reached the top and he was moving towards her just as slow as she walked backwards.

"Might as well give up already," he said.  
"Fuck you," she whispered which only made him laugh.

She took one more step backwards and then suddenly out of nowhere a big body came flying out from the room next to her, crashing into her, sending her straight into the wall. She dropped the razor as she went flying through the air. She hit hard on the floor and struggled to breathe while this monster of a man stood up and looked down at her.

They all heard footsteps as Dean came running from the bathroom to see what had went down. He grabbed the razor, straddled her legs and put it against her throat.

"You wanna cut me, huh, bitch? You think this is funny? How about I cut you too?" He spat.

She didn't answer since she still had a hard time breathing.

"Dean," Seth said silently.  
"What? He did say any means necessary as long as we don't actually kill her, right?"

Dean never took his eyes off her while saying those words, wanting to state his dominance over her.

"Dean," Roman said and put his hand on Dean's shoulder.  
"What, Roman?" Dean sneered.  
"Just let it slide. She can hardly breathe from the impact with me," Roman said.

Dean finally nodded and moved away from her. He threw the razor towards the opposite wall before reaching down to grab her arms and yank her back up. The second she was up, she started struggling again so he spun her around and pinned her up against his chest.

"Keep fighting, princess. I like them feisty," he said.  
"Alright, let's get a move on. Although, we might need to put her in some clothes. Seth, see if you can find something in one of the rooms," Roman said.  
"There's a dress in the bathroom," Dean said and nodded his head in the direction.  
"I'll get it. Get her down to the car," Roman said and started walking down the hallway.

"I got a feeling this one's gonna cause us trouble," Dean said as he pushed her forward into the car.

He had hardly spoken the words before she tried to take off running into the forest. He was faster than her though and caught up with her quickly. She was screaming and kicking as he dragged her back to the car.

"Not a chance, princess," he said.

Seth took a step forward.

"Allow me," he said.

Dean pushed her into Seth's arms and he quickly locked her into a sleeper hold, cutting off her airways and sending her into dreamland.

"Nighty night," he laughed as she went limp in his arms.


	2. Reunite the turtle doves

She woke up to talking voices. She opened her eyes and looked around. She recognized all three of them. None of them looked at her. Their eyes were planted at the tv while they were talking. She slowly took them in one by one as she ran it through her mind. She had heard all of their names while they were talking above her body on the ground. Dean, Seth and Roman.

She looked down at herself and noticed she was back in the black cocktail dress she had been wearing before they stormed her home. She slowly reached up in her hair and worked out a bobby pin. She wouldn't be able to do much damage with it but if she could at least stab one of them in the eye with it, it might give her enough time to get away.

She slowly pushed herself up to sit, hoping no one would notice it. She wasn't that lucky. Dean turned his head and looked at her, a smirk slowly creeping up on his face as he watched her.

"She's awake," he said.

Seth and Roman turned their heads too and suddenly everyone was watching her. It didn't stop her though. When Dean was stupid enough to get out of his seat and walk towards her, she jumped up from the bed to attack him. He turned his head in the final second so she just missed his eye but scratched the bobby pin down his cheek instead.

He threw her down on the bed and jumped on top of her, forcing her arms down her body and straddled her, locking her arms down along with the rest of her. He reached up to touch his cheek and saw the blood on his fingers.

"I'm getting pretty tired of you drawing blood from me," he sneered.  
"Then fucking let me go!" She yelled.

His hands went into her hair, pulling it roughly as he tried to find the rest of the bobby pins hidden in there. She was yelling and cursing under him but she couldn't get away. He finally got all of them out and looked down at her with a satisfied grin on his face. She didn't look at him any longer though. Her eyes were looking past him. He turned his head to see Seth standing there with a gun in his hand, pointing it directly at her.

"Oh-oh, you're in so much trouble now, princess," Dean chuckled as he moved away from her.

Seth moved forward but instead of being scared as they had expected, she sat up to move closer to him.

"Do it," she said.  
"Don't think I won't," he said.  
"Then do it, you fucking coward. Nah, you don't dare. You don't got it in you. You're nothing but a piece of chicken shit. You lack the balls to do it," she taunted.

Before he could answer, Roman snapped the gun out of Seth's hand. 

"Alive. He wants her alive. And she's fucking goading you into doing it," he said.

Her eyes shot daggers at Roman for calling her out but she didn't say anything. He was right. She was trying to provoke Seth enough to actually do it. It would be the easy way out. Get them to kill her and she wouldn't have to ever see him again. Roman sat back down with the gun in his hands and his eyes still on her.

"Do you know why you're here?" He asked.  
"Bray sent you," she answered.  
"Good," Roman nodded. "Since we're gonna be stuck with each other for a while, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"  
"You already know who I am," she said.  
"We know your name. Brandy. We know you pissed off Bray badly since he sent us to get you. And what did you find out, Dean?" He asked as he turned his eyes to his friend.

Dean chuckled a little before looking into her eyes.

"You were one hard girl to find. I spent months hacking into security cameras all around and just watching hour after hour in hopes of catching you. Whenever I did I followed you around until I had to hack in somewhere new and find you all over again. You never used your name public just once for an entire year," he said.  
"That was kind of the point," she said and rolled her eyes.  
"I finally tracked you to a so called gentleman's club and I just waited for you to show up and I followed you home. The rest you know," he said.  
"A gentleman's club? So she's a whore?" Seth asked.  
"I'm not a whore," she sneered.  
"Please! What else do women do in a place like that?" Seth asked.  
"Smile, serve drinks, light cigars, laugh at stupid jokes. We're everything their wives aren't without actually being with them at any point," she said.  
"People actually pay for something like that? That sounds very boring," Dean said.  
"Why the fuck do you care? There isn't much gentleman left in you," she said.  
"True," Dean laughed.

He walked back to his seat and sat down.

"But..." He said and lifted his finger. "You do live in a mansion owned by one of the men coming to that club. Yeah, I found out about him too. So what? He's your sugar daddy?"  
"Not like that. He was planning on selling the mansion but allowed me to stay in it instead. There's nothing dirty going on. He doesn't even live there himself," she said.  
"Is he gonna come looking for you once he realizes you're gone?" Roman asked.  
"No. Leave him out of this. He doesn't know anything about Bray or anybody associated with him. He's not a threat to anyone. He thinks I'm a junkie that's trying to turn my life around with this new job and he just wanted to help me. I don't give a fuck what you're planning to do to me but leave him out of it," she said.

There was a begging tone in her voice and Roman slowly nodded. He could see she was being sincere.

"Alright," he said lowly.  
"Thank you," she whispered and nodded back at him.

She blew out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in.

"So what did you do to piss off Bray?" Dean asked.  
"You don't know?" She asked surprised.  
"Must be really bad since he sent us three out to get you. No one ever gets away when we're on the case," Dean said with an amused smile on his face.  
"I didn't do anything else but leave him," she said.  
"I find that hard to believe," Seth said.  
"I don't care what you believe. Bray and I were an item," she said.  
"I find that even harder to believe," Seth chuckled.  
"I was a junkie once. Way back in the days. Bray found me and took me in, fed me all this bullshit about a better world, and for a long time I couldn't see his flaws. He sucked me right into his world until I was in so deep that I couldn't get out. I don't think I have to tell you just how dangerous he is," she said.

All three men laughed and nodded at that statement.

"So basically you're just the one that got away? His long lost love?" Dean asked.  
She nodded and again they all laughed.  
"Nice try, princess. Really, what did you do? Did you record some of his shady business and threathen to expose it to the world?" He asked.  
"God, no, how stupid do you think that I am? I would never go anywhere near anything he has his hands in. All I want to do is be free and far away from him. Why else would I have lived underground for an entire year?" She said.  
"It's a cute story, princess. It really is. Let's reunite the turtle doves," he laughed.

She cringed at his last word.

"Please, don't call me that," she whispered.  
"What?" He asked.  
"Dove. Bray always called me that," she was still whispering.  
"Fine. I'll stick with princess," he said and winked.

She nodded. She'd take it. She could live with princess or anything else he wanted to call her.

"How long have you been working for him?" She asked.  
"Long enough," Seth answered.  
"You weren't there a year ago when I left so it can't have been that long and still he sent you out for me so you can't be completely newbies," she said.  
"Eight months," Roman said.  
"Eight months," she repeated. "So you haven't been around long enough to see just how sick he can be."  
"Believe it, we've seen it. We just don't care. We follow the money," Seth said.  
"That's all I am? A paycheck?" She asked.  
"A pretty big one," Roman answered. "Bigger than any he has ever given out. You must be really important to him."  
"And you still think I'm just going there for a normal punishment?" She asked. "You really are stupid, aren't you?"

Dean flew up from the chair and before she could register what was going on, she found herself back down on the bed with one of his hands around her throat. He was sitting on his knees next to her, giving her a cruel look while a twisted smile slowly appeared on his face. His other hand slowly started move up her inner thigh.

"You know, he did say we could do things to you as long as we don't kill you," he threathened.  
"Go ahead. I know Bray better than you do. You can beat me up all you want but there's one thing he won't accept and that is for any man to put his hands on me that way," she said.  
"You'll say anything to save yourself," he said.  
"Try it. Hell, you don't even have to do it. I can just lie and tell him you did so and he'll have your head," she said.

A set of strong arms yanked Dean away from her. He spun around and came face to face with Roman.

"What? Don't say you actually believe her?" Dean asked.  
"I'm not saying that," Roman said as he quickly looked down at her. "I'm just saying that we're better than that. You're better than that," Roman said.  
"I wasn't actually gonna do it. I was just gonna scare her," Dean said.  
"Stop messing around. She's scared enough as it is and we have work to do," Roman said.

Dean held his hands up in the air as he walked backwards to sit down on the chair again.

"So two of us will run out. We need clothes for her and food for us all. It will be faster if we split up. And one of us stay behind," Roman said.  
"Any preferences?" Seth asked mockingly.  
"Yeah," she smirked a little. "I'd like for Dean to stay."

Dean stuck out his tongue with a chuckle, clearly amused of how bold she was after all that had just gone down.

"I'll stay and guard the princess," he said.  
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Roman said.  
"It's the best idea. There's no way in hell I'm gonna shop for girls clothing and you never like what I wanna eat," Dean said.  
"No more seafood, please," Seth whined.  
"Fine," Roman said as he looked at Dean. "But you fucking behave."  
"Don't I always?" Dean grinned.


	3. Even bad guys have good days

"So princess," Dean said as he dumped down next to her in bed. "What do you wanna do now that we're alone?"  
She gave him a cold stare.  
"Come on, don't be like that," he said and put his arm around her shoulder. "We can be friends."  
"Friends?" She couldn't hold back her laugh.  
"Good friends. And good friends share everything. So tell me, now that it's just us, what did you really do to piss of Bray?" He asked.  
"Why won't you believe me?" She hissed.  
"Come on, really? You want us to believe he's gonna pay us that amount of money just to bring back the woman he wants to be with? No one is that twisted," he chuckled.  
"I'm sorry, have you even met Bray? Have you seen what he does to people?" She asked.  
"I've seen it first hand. We've brought back different people who screwed him over," he answered.  
"So you've seen the torture," she said.  
"And the killings. Man, he can be so creative," he said.

She pushed his arm away, not wanting to feel him that close after hearing him talk so lighthearted about it.

"Okay, say I do believe you. What's he gonna do to you? If he loves you, won't he be happy to see you again?" He asked.  
"You don't wanna know," she answered.  
"Why else would I ask?" He chuckled.  
"You're gonna get a front row ticket for it so you'll find out soon enough," she said.

He kept chuckling, his eyes lighting up while doing so. He found her fighting spirit so amusing. She wasn't just rolling down on her back and giving in to them even though they were three against one. She knew just as well as they did that she wasn't going anywhere and still she refused to bow down just yet.

"You know, you were so much fun to track down. The others I found within days, a week at the most, but you... you took months. You were a challenge. I liked that," he said.  
She snorted by those words. She couldn't care less what he felt.  
"And I liked watching you on all those cameras. I liked seeing where you would go and what you would do. Like a hunted animal. I tried to figure out just what you were thinking," he said.  
"I was thinking I wanted to stay alive," she said.  
"He wants you alive. We've said that several times now," he said.  
"And now I don't wanna stay alive anymore. Being with him is worse than death," she said.  
"So melodramatic. Typical women," he laughed.

She rolled her eyes. She had had enough of him by now.

"Mind if I use the bathroom?" She asked.  
"Go ahead. There's no window in there. As a matter of fact, why don't you shower while you're in there? Throw out your clothes so I can get them washed," he said.  
"Why?" She asked.  
"It's still Bray we're talking about. He probably wants you to look presentable when you meet him again," he answered.  
"Speaking of, why are we here instead of on the road to meet him?" She asked.  
"We're just laying low for a couple of days until we're completely sure no one's looking for you," he answered.  
"But I told you..." She started.  
"I know what you said, princess, and sorry if we don't believe you but that's just how things are gonna be so deal with it," he cut her off.

He left the bed and walked to the bathroom door. He took the key from the inside and put it on the other side.

"Get in there, undress and throw the clothes out here. Once that's done, I'm gonna lock you in there so you won't go running off while I take your clothes to the laundry room," he said.  
"Laundry room. So this isn't just a cheap motel somewhere," she stated.  
"It doesn't matter what it is or where we are. Get your sweet ass in there," he said.  
"Yeah, I bet you wanna touch my ass," she muttered as she walked past him.  
"I heard that," he chuckled. "And yes."  
"God damn it, there isn't even a shower curtain in here. I take that back. This is a cheap motel," she cursed.

She closed the door to the bathroom and took a look in the mirror. She looked worn out, as if she had already given up. She knew she had. The men might not have caught on completely even though she had tried to make Seth shoot her but she was done. She wanted out. She sighed, looked away from the mirror and took off her clothes. She opened the door just a little and threw it out in the room where he was. She heard the lock click right after and she turned on the water and went to stand under it.

For a minute she just stood there, staring out in the room, wondering what to do. Again her eyes wandered to the mirror on the wall. As if someone took over her mind, she walked out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her hand and walked straight to the mirror. She smashed it and looked at the pieces that fell to the floor. She grabbed the piece that looked the sharpest and walked back to the shower. She dropped the towel on the floor and went back under the water. She sat down on the ground, water pouring down at her, while she just stared at the piece of glass in her hand.

Dean came back and walked over to knock on the bathroom door.

"I'm back," he yelled through it while he unlocked it. "Come out whenever you're ready."

He sat on the edge of the bed as he turned on the tv. He didn't watch it though. He kept looking at the door. Why didn't she answer him? Of course she was mad but she could at least answer. He turned off the tv again and walked over to knock on the door one more time.

"Did you hear me? I said I was back," he yelled.  
Still no answer. He opened the door just a crack.  
"Are you alright in there?" He asked.  
She still didn't answer.  
"Okay, I'm coming in whether you like it or not," he said and pushed the door open.

His eyes went straight to the shower. The water was still pouring down and she sat on the floor, blood running from her arm while she tried to cut deep enough to hit a vein.

"Ah, shit!" He hissed.

He ran to her, falling to the floor in front of her, getting soaked from the water, as he grabbed the piece of glass and threw it across the floor. She grabbed a hold on his shirt and leaned into his chest while she was sobbing.

"I don't wanna go back to him! Don't make me go back to him!" She sobbed.  
"Fuck," he said lowly as he grabbed the towel from the floor and wrapped it around her arm.  
"Please, Dean, let me go or kill me. Just don't send me back to him," she begged, still clutching on to his shirt with one hand.

He reached up to turn off the water and then wrapped both his arms around her and held her tight. He didn't know what else to do. He wasn't used to dealing with women, let alone crying women, so he just held his arms around her, hoping it somehow would make her stop. Eventually it did. She became real quiet and when he looked down at her, she just stared straight out in the room with glassy eyes.

"Okay, let's get you to bed. You look like you could use some rest," he said.

He helped her up, tried drying her the best he could without actually touching her too much, and then he guided her back into the other room. She seemed gone for the moment, just following him blindly without actually saying or doing anything. He lifted up the blanket and she laid down while he put it around her.

"I tell you, princess, I've never gotten a naked girl into bed without following her. If you tell the boys I tucked you in, we're gonna have a real problem," he said with amusement in his voice. "Now sleep for a bit, alright?"

"We're back," Roman stated loudly as he opened the door.  
"Ssh!" Dean shushed him right away and nodded his head towards the bed.  
Roman and Seth both looked at her.  
"Dean, why is she naked?" Roman asked as he looked at her back and upper arms that were holding on to the blanket.  
"She took a shower and I washed her clothes and there was an incident," Dean said.  
"An incident?" Roman raised his brows.  
"She smashed the mirror and tried cutting her wrist," Dean said.  
"What?" Seth spat out.

He hurried to the bed and lifted up her left arm without waking her.

"It's true, Roman," he said as he looked back at the two men still standing there.

Roman walked over to take a look himself.

"Why would she do that?" He asked.  
"She completely broke down when I got there. I've never seen anyone that upset," Dean said.  
Both Seth and Roman looked at him.  
"I think... shit... I think she might be telling the truth," he said.  
"Dean," Seth said.  
"Either that or she killed his mother. God, think about it. Why does he pay so much for her? What's so special about her? We can't keep fooling ourselves, thinking she just did something like the rest of them. This time it's different somehow and you know it just as well as I do," Dean said.  
"It doesn't matter what she did. We work for him and she's our paycheck," Roman said.  
"I know that and I'm not saying we don't deliver her. All I'm saying is... fuck! I don't even know what I'm saying," Dean said.

He dropped his shoulders as he walked over to fall down on a chair. He suddenly felt so tired.

"Look, one of you stay alone with her next time then and maybe you'll see what I see. Or at least get something out of her. There's something here that isn't right," he said.  
"It's never right when Bray is involved. It's never right when we're involved. We're the bad guys," Seth said.  
"I know that but even bad guys have good days. There's just something here. Something more. Something we don't know," Dean said.


	4. It doesn't change a thing

"Hey," her eyes went in the direction of the voice and found Seth sitting there. "Morning kid."  
"Morning?" She asked as she sat up, holding the blanket close to her body.  
"You've been out since yesterday. I was beginning to think you had slipped into a coma," he joked.  
"If only," she muttered.  
"You missed out on dinner. I can't even offer you a cold burger since Roman ate yours too," he said.  
"I'm not hungry anyway. Where are the others?" She asked.  
"Out for breakfast," he answered.

He grabbed a bag from the table and threw it on the bed. She opened it and pulled out a pair of sweatpants, an oversize tee and a pair of boy shorts. She frowned and looked at him displeased.

"You really went out of your way to make me look as unsexy as possible," she said.  
"You wanna look sexy for us?" He chuckled.  
"No, but I'm more of a thong and dress girl," she answered, then shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well."

She gave him another look and he held up his hands in the air as he stood up and turned his back to her.

"I promise, no peeking," he said.  
She quickly got the clothes on and sat back down on the bed.  
"There," she said.

He turned around and looked at her. He couldn't help but laugh a little. She was right. There was absolutely nothing sexy about seeing her in that clothes. That was probably for the best. She wasn't an unattractive woman.

"I still don't get this whole gentleman's club thing," he said as he sat back down.  
"We're a fantasy. Everything they wish they had at home," she said.  
"So it's fake. You play a part and they go along with it," he said.  
"Exactly. I had years of training in that after being with Bray. Playing pretend around men is easy," she said.

He tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair for a few seconds, clearly thinking about something, before he finally opened his mouth again to ask her what was on his mind.

"Okay, I'll play pretend with you for a little while. You were Bray's lover. I can pretend that's true. How did you get away then?" He asked.  
"You ever hear about a guy named Pedro?" She asked.  
"Not only heard of him. He was our first job. That guy was bad at hiding. We found him by the end of the day," he answered.  
"Yeah, Pedro was never that clever. He was a sweet kid though and he should have never gotten involved with Bray. He had a thing for me so I earned his trust quickly. We often ran errands together. He wasn't allowed to let me walk alone but he didn't think I'd actually disappear on him. So one day I told him I had to buy some female products at a supermarket and he waited in the car. Poor kid. I don't even think he knew supermarkets had a back entrance as well. I just ran through the place and I never looked back," she said.  
"Really? It was that easy?" He couldn't hold back a giggle.  
"Ask Dean where he first picked me up. I bet you it was the security cameras at that supermarket," she said.  
"Sure, I'll do that," he said.

She felt her palms getting sweaty and she tried drying them by rubbing her hands on the pants. She was nervous and she knew he noticed it. At least he didn't call her out on it. She appreciated that.

"Do you know what happened to the other track team before he hired you?" She asked.  
"People said he killed them for not getting a job done," he answered.  
"God, I thought they would have been clever enough to run and hide along with Pedro," she said.  
"Why would they do that?" He asked.  
"The other track team was two brothers. Pedro was their baby brother. I knew if I used him, they would never track him down and deliver him to Bray. I just thought they would follow him and help him hide better. Guess they were too scared," she said.  
"Or too stupid," he said.

She shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't too sure anymore and it didn't matter. They were gone.

"Do you know what happened to Pedro after you brought him back?" She asked.  
"Yeah, of course. We stayed and watched," he answered.  
"Of course you did. Bray always wants that," she said. "So what happened?"  
"You sure you wanna know?" He asked.

She nodded and he looked at her, not sure if she should tell her. It wasn't a pretty picture he had left in his mind after seeing that. Pedro was his first and he didn't know Bray loved torture that much. At the time he thought it was insane. Later he learned that Pedro had gotten off easy.

"He cut off all his fingers before he finally slit his throat," he said.  
"Poor Pedro," she sighed.  
"Yeah, poor Pedro. He kept screaming over and over that he was sorry," he said.  
"Bray never accepts apologies," she said.  
"No, he said what Pedro had done was unforgiven. He said that he had lost his..." His eyes suddenly widened when the memory came back. "...dove."

He stared at her and she stared right back, waiting for him to say or do anything.

"Holy shit!" He blurted out.

They both turned their heads as the door opened and Dean and Roman came walking in with bags. The tension in the room was thick and the two men quickly caught on that something had happened.

"What's going on here?" Roman asked.  
"Brandy, go into the bathroom. I just need a quick talk with the guys," Seth said.

She walked in without a word and heard the lock click after her. So they were going outside. It wasn't rocket science to figure that out. Seth walked out of the room with Dean and Roman following, closing the door to make sure she would hear absolutely nothing.

"What's up?" Dean asked.  
"Where did you first pick her up when you started tracking her down?" Seth asked.  
"At a supermarket. Why?" Dean answered.  
"She ran through it and out of the back entrance?" Seth asked.  
"Yeah. How did you know? Did she tell you that?" Dean asked.  
"Did you see who was in the car in the parking lot with her?" Seth asked.  
"No, the person never stepped out of it. I just figured it was someone helping her," Dean answered.  
"It wasn't. He didn't know she would run. It was Pedro. You remember him, right? Our first job for Bray," Seth said.  
"Pedro? That little man?" Roman asked.

Seth nodded and ran his hand through his hair.

"She brought back the memory. Do you remember when we delivered him to Bray?" Seth asked.  
"He cut off his fingers and slit his throat," Roman answered.  
"Do you remember what he said to Pedro? That what he had done was unforgiven?" Seth asked.  
"Yeah," Dean answered.  
"Do you remember what Bray said he had lost?" Seth asked.

They both looked at him as they tried to bring back the memory.

"Come on, guys. Think," Seth pleaded.  
"His dove," Roman finally said and sighed.  
"And we just thought it was code word for something we had no clue what was. Well, somehow it was," Seth said and pointed at the door.  
"Jesus," Roman muttered.

He opened the door and walked quickly to the bathroom door. Seth and Dean followed inside but kept near each other close to the front door. Roman unlocked and opened the bathroom door and looked at her.

"Out!" He barked.

She walked out and he pointed at the bed.

"Sit!" Another order.

She sat down on the edge and he walked over to her. He crouched down in front of her and stared her straight in the eyes. She felt nervous about having him this close and she turned her head towards Dean and Seth. He grabbed her chin to force her to look at him.

"Hey! Eyes here. They're not here right now. It's just you and me. Be honest with me. Are you lying to us?" He asked.  
"No," she answered.  
"Little girl, I swear to god if you're lying..." He started.  
"I'm not lying!" She raised her voice. "And what if I was? It's not like you care anyway. I'm just a paycheck."

He let go off her, got back up and took a step backwards. He still looked at her for a few seconds before turning to look at Seth and Dean. Somehow they all knew it by now. She wasn't lying.

"It still doesn't change a thing," Roman said.  
"Roman," Dean said lowly.  
"It doesn't, Dean!" Roman yelled before lowering his voice again. "We have to deliver her. We signed up for this job. If we don't..."

The threat hung open in the air.

"And my life isn't as important as yours," she finished his thoughts.  
"I'm sorry," Roman said.  
"No, you're not," she said. "Let me ask you something. Does he still have that cage with an empty bed standing in the room where everyone always is?"  
"Yeah. I've never seen him put anyone in it though," Roman answered.  
"I've only ever seen him put one person in it," she said.  
"Who?" Roman asked.  
"Me," she answered.

For a second his eyes turned from hard to worried. He had no clue what to say to that information and neither had Seth or Dean. All three men just stood there nervously, trying to figure out what on earth to say to that.

"Let's just eat, alright?" Dean tried changing the subject and the heavy mood hanging in the air.  
"I'm not hungry," she said.  
"You gotta eat," Dean said.  
"No, I don't. You won't let me go, you won't kill me, and you won't even let me kill myself. Fine, deliver me to him and walk away. But I'm not staying with him. If I don't eat or drink anything, I'll be gone from him soon enough," she said.

She crawled back under the blanket and lied down.

"We're not gonna let you starve to death," Dean said as he sat down next to her.  
"What are you gonna do? Beat me till I finally eat? Just fucking do your job and move on with your life," she said.  
"Just let it go, Dean," Seth said.


	5. Watch it all

She had fallen asleep again and hours had passed when she finally woke up. She opened her eyes and stared straight into a pair of blue ones. Dean was lying on the bed next to her and just watching her with a little smile.

"You sure sleep a lot," he said.  
"That's what happens when people are depressed," she said.  
"Water?" He asked as he held up a bottle of water.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. No way he was gonna lure her into taking anything inside her body, food or water. She wanted to stay firm to what she had said that morning. She wasn't gonna stay around for long if she was forced to be with Bray again.

"Bathroom," she said and got up from the bed.  
"I bought a toothbrush for you this morning. It's out there," he said.

She just nodded as she crossed the room and closed the bathroom door behind her. She didn't feel good. She was tired and felt kind of sick. Everything was just wrong. With a sigh she finally sat down and peed. She brushed her teeth afterwards and then walked back into the room. Dean was still lying in bed with a little smile and she walked back to the empty side and lied down next to him again.

"Tell me something about yourself," she said.  
"Like what?" He asked.  
"Just something. I don't know. Where do you live?" She asked.  
"We don't have a place. Our job keeps us on the move constantly so we just crash at hotels or some of the places Bray owns," he answered.  
"It always comes back to Bray," she said lowly.

He didn't like seeing that sad look in her eyes. He knew he shouldn't. No one knew about it and they had always agreed to keep the secret between them. But she was there, desperately wanting to dream herself away to a place where Bray had never been, so he decided to tell her the truth.

"Okay, don't go tell anyone this since only me, Seth and Roman know about it but we actually do have a place," he said.  
"Where?" She asked.  
"It doesn't matter where it is. It's beautiful though. It's an old house. We restored it a bit. It's big and it's right down to a lake. We have no neighbours so we can just be one with nature and run around naked if we like," he said and flashed her a sassy smile.

She gave him a little smile back and he wondered if she was actually picturing him running around naked in that moment. He wouldn't mind if she did. He had already seen her naked so it would only somehow be fair. Suddenly she moved her head forward fast and pressed her lips to his. He was surprised but he didn't pull back. He just opened his mouth and welcomed her kiss, grabbed her behind the head and buried his fingers in her hair.

"No, we can't," he said and pulled away. "I will not allow you to try and do something like that to get away."  
"What? I wasn't even thinking that," she said.  
"What is it all about then?" He asked.  
"I haven't been with another man since Bray. Dating didn't really fit into the whole hiding thing. Now that I'm going back there, I just want another memory, a good memory of being with someone else that I can escape to in my mind once he gets me," she said.

He stared at her for a few seconds. It seemed like she really meant it. He could understand it and somehow he wanted to be a good memory to her. He wanted her to remember him. He wanted her to stay alive and think about him all the time.

"I tell you what," he said as he held up the bottle of water again. "You drink some of this and I'm gonna give you the kiss of your life."  
"Really? The kiss of my life?" She giggled.  
"You'll never know unless you try it," he challenged.

He saw the fire in her eyes. She sat up, grabbed the water bottle and drank half of it. She put the lid back on and threw the bottle on the floor before lying back down again, just looking at him, waiting for his move. She didn't have to wait long. He grabbed her behind the head again and pulled her in for a kiss.

For a while they just laid there, lost in the kiss, until he started running his fingers down her back, down to squeeze her ass. She moaned a little and pushed her leg over his thighs, opening herself up a bit, and he knew he wanted her. His fingers ran back up to the waistband of the sweatpants and quickly found their way inside them and her boy shorts. Once again he squuezed her ass before running his fingers further down, in between her legs, feeling the heat coming from her, feeling how she was already slightly wet. He ran his fingers over her hole, teasing her a bit, and just as he was about to push them inside, the door swung open and Seth and Roman entered.

Dean growled and quickly retreated from her and the bed. Seth and Roman were deep in their conversation to even notice anything going on in front of them. Their words were loud and heated.

"What's going on, guys?" Dean asked.  
"Bray called. He wants her back now," Seth answered.  
"Where did you put her clothes?" Roman asked.  
"The closet," Dean answered.

All three men suddenly seemed on edge and forgot to even look at her. Hearing those words, knowing it was real, she was actually going back, she quietly made her way out of the bed and towards the bathroom door. She took the key from the outside and put it back on the inside. All three men jumped and looked at the door as they heard it slam shut.

She was panicking in the bathroom. There was no way out. She knew that. She looked around for anything to use but nothing was there. They had cleaned up every little piece of glass from the broken mirror. She felt her face get wet as the tears started spilling. She went to the furthest corner, slid down the wall and curled up.

"Open up!" Roman shouted.  
"Come on, princess, you know we're gonna get in there anyway," Dean said.  
"Just kick the fucking door down," Seth said.

She jumped by the first sound of a boot connecting with the wood. A couple of more heavy sounds and suddenly the wood gave way and the door opened. Dean walked inside, heavy breathing from kicking the door down. He walked straight over to her, sat down on his knees and reached his hands forward to comfort her. It didn't go as planned as she bit down hard on his hand, drawing blood from him for the third time. He howled in pain and yanked her head back with his other hand, forcing her to let go.

"God damn it, princess, stop making me bleed!" He sneered.  
"Get dressed," Roman said and threw her dress and underwear down next to them.  
"No," she whispered.  
"One way or another, you're getting dressed," Roman said.  
"I swear to god I'll tell him you all raped me! I'll tell him and he'll fucking kill you all!" She started screaming.  
"Okay, hard way then," Dean said.

He grabbed her arms and yanked her in front of him. He quickly got her out of the tee, exposing her breasts, and then hooked her arms behind her back and holding her upper body still. The rest was up to Seth and Roman. They worked together to hold her kicking legs still and get her out of the sweatpants and boy shorts. She was screaming, no words anymore, just her voice constantly ringing in their ears. Roman got her thong back on her while Seth looked like a helpless case with her bra in his hands.

"I don't know how to get this on her. I usually only take them off women," he said.  
"Just forget the bra. Get her in the dress," Dean said.

Roman worked the dress up her legs, all the way up to cover her breasts. They only needed to get her arms into the holes now but she was still screaming and fighting, not about to help them at all.

"We gotta silence her. She's gonna draw so much attention to us if she goes out screaming like that. She probably already alerted all the neighbours," Roman said.

A loud smack was heard and everything went dead quiet in the room. Her head was turned to the side, her cheek red from the slap. Seth stood there without saying anything, his hand still out in the air though. He had done the only thing he could think of to keep her quiet. Dean let go off her arms and got them into the dress. She wasn't fighting anymore. It was like after the shower all over again. She followed him blindly without saying or doing anything.

"Let's go, princess," he said as he helped her up.  
"Get her in the car. We'll quickly gather our stuff here," Roman said.

Dean placed her in the back seat and sat next to her. She just sat there, staring straight ahead. Her eyes were still wet and glassy but at least the tears had stopped running. He reached over to take her hand and squeeze it but she didn't seem to even register it.

"You'll see, everything's gonna be fine. Bray missed you. He's not gonna hurt you. He's gonna be happy that you're coming back. Just... you know... just be a good girl to him and don't piss him off. I know you can do that," he said, trying to convince both her and himself.

The car ride was quiet all the way. She didn't say anything and none of them knew what to say in the situation. It was all so awkward and felt so wrong. She just stared straight ahead but as the surroundings started to get familiar, she started trembling more and more. Dean felt so bad for her but he had no idea what to say or do to calm her down so he just watched her, thinking that he should somehow reach out to her again but he didn't know how.

"We're here," Roman said as he stopped the car.

He didn't need to say it. They all knew they had arrived. They all knew the place. He just felt like he had to break the awkward silence somehow. All three men exited the car. Dean walked around and opened the door on her side.

"Come on, princess," he said in a soft tone.

She stepped out of the car with her head held low. Dean stared at her, her lips in particular. Just a little while ago he had been attached to them, wanting to feel her, all of her, and now he was delivering her to his boss. He couldn't figure out what had went wrong along the way but nothing felt right anymore. For a brief second he looked at his friends to see the same expression on their faces and in that one unattended moment, she took off running. She knew she wouldn't make it but she had to try. She was tackled to the ground and felt Dean's arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I really am. But I have to do it," he said lowly.  
"Promise me something," she said.  
"Yeah, sure," he said, just happy to finally hear her voice again.  
"Watch. Whatever he does to me in there, you watch. Watch it all and remember it's your fault," she said.

He swallowed hard, not knowing what to say to that. Instead he got back up and yanked her up from the ground with him. He walked her back to Seth and Roman and together they all three walked her inside. Bray turned around with a huge smile on his face when he saw her. He started chuckling as he took three envelopes and walked over to them and handed them one each. Their payment.

"My dove. My precious, white dove. Are you done flying from me?" He said as he grabbed her arm and dragged her away from them.

He stopped and looked her over. His eyes landed on the cuts on her left arm and anger flushed through him. He grabbed her arm hard and held it out as he spun around and stared at the three men.

"Which one of you hurt my dove?" He growled.

This was it. All three of them knew it. She would open her mouth, she would lie, she would tell him they hurt her, she would tell him they raped her. They were done for it. She had said she would do it if they took her back.

"No one hurt me, baby. I did it myself. I was scared," she said.

Dean's eyes widened in surprise and he just stared at her. She had every chance of throwing them under the bus and getting her revenge on them for dragging her back here and she didn't. She chose to keep them safe. He wasn't sure why.

"Why would you hurt yourself like that, dove?" Bray asked.  
"I was scared you wouldn't take me back. I know I messed up. I missed you, baby. I should never have gone away," she lied.  
"No, you shouldn't. Don't worry, dove, you won't be able to fly away again," Bray said.

He held her out in front of him so everyone could look at her.

"Let this be a reminder to you all. No one betrays me. No one gets away," he said.

He pulled out a knife from his back pocket. Dean felt his heart start beating faster. He glanced at Seth and Roman and he could see they felt uneasy too. Bray took the knife to her shoulders and cut the straps on the dress. He followed with cutting the entire back of the dress open so it fell to the floor. She hung her head as low as she could as he exposed her to every man in the room. He moved the knife down to her thong, cut it open in both sides, and it too fell to the floor.

He grabbed her hair and dragged her over to a near by table, forcing her upper body to bend down over it. He ran the tip of the knife down her back, teasing and tormenting her, making sure she knew he was in charge. With a little chuckle he threw the knife on the floor before his hand started opening his own pants and pushing them down his thighs.

"No," Dean whispered as he realized what was about to happen.

With a hand still in her hair to keep her down on the table, Bray forced himself inside her in front of everyone. Dean felt his heart break, knowing he was to blame for this. He wanted to look away but he kept hearing her words from outside.

 _Watch it all and remember it's your fault._

So he watched and he blamed himself. He hated himself in that moment. All he could do was hoping she would go back to that little sweet memory they had created together earlier when they were lying in bed, kissing each other.

And then it was done as quickly as it had begun. Bray pulled out of her, laughing as he closed his pants and grabbed the knife from the floor again. She was still lying over the table, not daring to move at all before he said she could. He grabbed her hair again, yanked her back up to stand and dragged her over to the cage in the room.

"My precious dove needs to be behind bars so she won't fly away again," he said as he pushed her inside.

She walked over to the naked bed and sat down, just staring straight ahead. No one else in the room had said anything yet but they were all thinking different things. Some liked what they had seen, others didn't. Bray locked the cage and hung the key on a hook in the wall where she could see it. See it but not reach her. Another way to torment her.

"Maybe we can get her a blanket and some pillows?" Roman whispered.  
"Don't fucking speak," Seth whispered back.  
"Good job, boys," Bray said as he walked back over to them. "Take the rest of the week off and do whatever you want."


	6. We failed you

Take the rest of the week off. Did he really just say that? Like it was an easy Summer job that meant nothing. None of the three men moved. They just kept staring at the cage, at her, as she sat there looking straight ahead. She stood up from the bed, her eyes locked on Bray as she walked over to the bars and placed her hands around them.

"Bray baby," she called out in a soft tone.  
"Yes, dove?" He asked.  
"Can I use the bathroom?" She asked.  
"Of course," he answered.

He walked over and took the key from the hook, then walked over to unlock the cage. She put on a fake little smile, a smile that never reached her eyes, as she stepped out and followed him.

"Play pretend, kid," Seth whispered as he watched them walk out of the room, then turned to his friends. "Outside now!"

They quietly made their way out, careful not to draw any unwanted attention towards them. They were all fuming inside but they couldn't show it. Not if they wanted to stay unnoticed. Once outside away from prying ears, Seth let out a loud scream and kicked their car in a rage.

"What the hell just happened in there?" Roman asked, still not able to believe it.  
"You wanna know what happened? Because I'll tell you what happened!" Dean spat as he walked close to Roman, standing face to face with him. "We let her down! We brought her here and we let that man rape her! We led an innocent lamb to the slaughterhouse! It's our fault, Roman, our fault!"

He turned around so they wouldn't notice the tears forming in his eyes. He heard one of them sniffle behind him, clearly trying to hold back on their emotions as well. They all knew they had messed up.

"When did we become like this?" Roman asked lowly.

Dean turned back around and looked at him.

"We used to be better than this. We used to be able to see right from wrong. Where did we go wrong?" Roman continued.  
"We met Bray. He got inside our minds somehow and all of the sudden it was only about the money," Seth said.  
"She saved us in there. She had every chance of making him kill us. All she had to do was tell one lie. She didn't. We shouldn't even be standing here right now. She kept us safe and we let her down," Dean said.  
"Well, I wanted to try and get her a blanket or something but Seth told me to shut up," Roman said.  
"Really, Roman? You didn't feel the tension in there? I told you to shut up to save your ass from being murdered by that insane man. With the mood he was in, no one would have been able to question anything he said or did without getting slashed. He wanted her in that cage with nothing. You trying to change that would have had the worst outcome for you. And you know, I kinda like having you around, meathead," Seth said and smiled.

He stuck out his fist and Roman sent a smile in his direction before connecting his own with it. They both looked at Dean and he finally put his own fist into the mix as well. It was a silent moment as they all connected with each other again.

"So what do we do now?" Dean asked.  
"I think it's time we remember our old motto," Roman said.  
"We don't work for anybody. We work for each other," Seth said.  
"Exactly," Roman said and looked at Dean. "Time to be all about justice again and there's a little girl in there who needs our help."  
"Any ideas?" Seth asked.  
"Too many in there who'll be on his side. We need to clear the place out a bit somehow," Dean said.  
"Hey, do you remember three months ago when there was a break in at the place where he keeps all his drugs?" Seth asked.  
"Yeah?" Roman asked.  
"He sent almost everyone there to take care of whoever the poor people was who was stupid enough to try that," Seth said.  
"Oh yeah!" Dean said.  
"I'll go ninja on the place. I got the gun and no one is stealthy like me," Seth said.  
"Are you fucking insane? You can get yourself killed," Roman said.  
"Have some faith in me," Seth said and twisted a little smile.  
"It's not that I don't believe in you. I just kinda like having you around too. You're my favourite idiot," Roman chuckled.  
"I thought that was Dean," Seth chuckled too.  
"Guys, guys, enough," Dean cut in. "What exactly do you have in mind, Seth?"

Ten minutes later all three walked inside again. She was back in the cage, sitting with her back against the bars and her knees up in front of her, her arms wrapped around her legs and still just staring straight ahead.

"What's up, boys?" Bray asked.  
"You really meant we could take some time off?" Seth asked.  
"Of course. You brought back my dove. That doesn't go unrewarded," Bray answered.  
"That's good. My grandmother is ill, dying actually. It gives me time to visit her and say goodbye. Roman's gonna drive me to the train station," Seth said.  
"Send my love to your grandmother," Bray said.  
"Will do," Seth said, swallowing hard as he tried to keep his contempt within.  
"And what are you gonna do?" Bray asked and looked at Dean.  
"I'm gonna stick around if you don't mind," Dean answered.  
"Of course not. Mind giving her something to drink for me? I'm kinda busy at the moment," Bray said and nodded towards the cage.  
"Sure," Dean said.

Dean walked to the kitchen and fetched a bottle of water in the fridge. He tried not to run back to her as he was anxious to be close to her again. He had failed her and trying to right his wrong still didn't change that fact.

"Hey princess," he said softly as he bowed down a bit behind the bars where she was sitting. "I brought you some water."

He held the bottle in between the bars but she didn't take. With a sigh he let go off it and let it dump down on the bed.

"I need you on board here. Please, drink. Just gather a little bit of strength. We're working on getting you out," he said as his eyes were firmly planted on Bray, making sure he didn't catch him talking to her. "We failed you and I'm so fucking sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."

He walked away from the cage again, pretending not to have a care in the world. Once he was far enough away, he casually turned around and glanced back. A little smile crept up on his face as he saw her drinking from the bottle. He quickly looked away again, casually walking around the place while feeling like a mess inside. He couldn't find any rest. When Roman appeared again and nodded to him, he let out a sigh and walked over to him. They walked outside together as if nothing was wrong.

"Seth's in place just waiting for our call. How is she?" Roman said.  
"She's drinking. She doesn't know what's going on though. I just told her we'd get her out of here," Dean said.  
"Good, good," Roman said and took out his phone. "You know we might lose Seth in this. We might even not make it ourselves. It's a shitty plan."  
"But it's the only one we got. Call him," Dean said.  
"Next time we get hired, you do an air tight back up check on the person so we don't end up in the claws of a maniac again," Roman said before putting the phone to his ear. "Seth? Yeah, we're ready. And Seth? Fucking stay alive or I'm gonna kill you."

Dean chuckled a little as Roman hung up.

"What?" Roman asked.  
"How are you gonna kill a dead man?" Dean asked.  
"Pray we don't have to find out," Roman answered.

They walked back inside and found a quiet corner to stand in to not attract any attention from anybody. They knew it was only a matter of minutes before things would go down. They both held their breaths as Bray's phone started ringing. Whoever was on the other end was shouting like crazy and Bray got a wild look on his face.

"Shit's going down at the drug house!" Bray yelled as he started pointing out most of the men present. "You, you, you... go down there! Now! Fast! Kill whoever is fucking with my drugs and my men down there!"

While Bray was screaming and sending out his men, Dean made it unseen to grab the key to the cage. He quietly moved over to the cage and crouched down behind the bars where she was sitting.

"Hey princess, give me your hand," he said.

She reached behind her and stuck her hand out of the bars, thinking he just wanted to be kind and maybe hold it while everyone was going crazy around her. She jumped a little as she felt the cold metal of the key being placed there and then he closed her fingers around it.

"In a minute when they're all gone, I need you to tell him I hurt you," he said.  
"What?" She asked.  
"Tell him I cut you. Tell him I raped you," he said.  
"No, Dean, he's gonna kill you," she said.  
"I promise you, he won't. I just need you to get all his attention on me," he said.  
"And then what?" She asked.  
"Then you unlock the cage and get outside as fast as you can. Hide in the car. The bag with the clothes you wore the last couple of days are in the back seat. We'll come for you. I promise," he said.  
"And if you don't?" She asked.  
"Hey, I never break a promise," he said confidently before getting back up to stand and walking away from the cage again.

She watched him as he quietly walked through the room and went to stand in the opposite end of Roman. She quickly looked over at Roman who gave her a little smile and a nod. She looked back at Dean who too nodded as the final man Bray sent out ran out of the door. She quickly got up from the bed and went to hold on to the bars like she had done earlier when she needed to use the bathroom.

"Bray baby," she called.  
"Not now, dove. Now is not a good time," he sneered.  
"But baby, it's important," she said.

He walked over to her and gave her a hard stare.

"What could be more important than someone trying to steal my drugs?" He asked.  
"He did it. I lied earlier but he did it," she said and stuck her left arm through the bars.  
"Who?" His tone dropped.  
"Dean cut me and... and... he raped me yesterday," she said as she started crying.

Both Roman and Dean watched as Bray slowly turned around. He looked like he was about to explode in anger. He grabbed the knife from his back pocket, unfolded it and slowly started walking towards Dean.

"You touched my dove?" He asked.  
"Hey, Bray, you said any means necessary," Dean said and held up his hands to show he was no threat.  
"You..." Bray growled lowly. "...touched... my... dove!"  
"Yeah, I touched her," Dean chuckled and stuck out his tongue. "And I loved it. She has the finest ass."

Bray launched himself forward to try and put the knife through Dean but Dean was faster and stepped back quickly. Roman came running from behind, taking Bray by complete surprise as he knocked him down from behind. Both men attacked him again while the few men still left came running in to help him. She hurried to the door to the cage and unlocked it. She crept slowly along the wall, trying not to draw any attention or somehow get caught in the fight. Once she reached the door, she stopped and looked at them. She couldn't take her eyes off the scene in front of her.

"What the hell are you doing? Get out!" Dean shouted.

She bolted out of the door and ran as fast as she could to the car. As promised the bag was there in the back seat. She quickly jumped back into the boy shorts, sweatpants and tee before crawling into the back seat and closing the door behind her. Everything suddenly seemed way too quiet as her eyes were glued to the door. Finally it got pushed open and Roman and Dean came storming towards the car. Roman jumped into the front seat while Dean joined her in the back seat.

Roman turned on the engine and stepped on the gas. She just looked at Dean as his chest was heaving and he was trying to catch his breath. A thin line of blood was running from the corner of his mouth.

"You're bleeding," she said in a low voice and reached her hand towards his mouth.

She let out a small squeal of surprise as he suddenly pushed her arm aside and instead wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight into his chest. He started crying into her hair and she had no idea how to react to it.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he kept saying.  
"Dean," Roman spoke soft but firm from the front seat. "I need you to call Seth."  
"Will he be able to answer?" Dean asked as he leaned back out with wet eyes.  
"No, but he'll feel it buzz in his pocket and know we're on the way," Roman answered.

Dean took out his phone, called Seth and let it ring till Seth's voicemail started. All they could do now was hoping that Seth was actually still alive to feel the phone buzzing. They drove in silence until they finally reached the place. The first sight that met them were a couple of dead bodies on the ground.

"Don't look," Dean hissed at her.  
"I've probably seen more death than you," she said lowly.  
"There!" Roman screamed as Seth came storming out from the building.

He reached over and pushed the door to the passenger seat open. Seth threw himself into the car and Roman stepped on the gas once more to get them away from there as fast as possible.

"Hey there, kid, how are you holding up?" Seth asked as he turned around in his seat and looked at her.  
"I'm hungry," she answered.

Why those were the first words out of her mouth, she couldn't even understand herself. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days and she was starting to feel it but that wasn't why. It just seemed like the only subject she would want to talk about while being stuck in a car with them.

"I hear you, kid. I say we order food tonight though. I doubt that any of us will be able to cook," Seth said as he moved his hand down to hold it over his ribs. "Damn, one of those assholes kicked like a horse."  
"I thought you were a ninja," Roman said.  
"Yeah, well, he never saw the bullet coming right after," Seth said before turning back around again, this time looking at Dean. "And Bray?"  
"Dead," Dean said.


	7. Done being a fantasy

"So everything is set. You're gonna rent a room at a nice old lady's house. She's expecting you today. You got your bag with clothes but you gotta buy some more. You can't last long with only two outfits. And I got you this," Dean said and handed her a thick envelope.  
"Is this what I think it is?" She asked.  
"Yes. Every dollar we earned from getting you back. They're yours. You deserve them," he answered.  
"It's too much. I can't take it. I won't take it," she said.  
"Ssh, princess," he said and pulled her in for a hug. "It's yours. Go start over and live a good life," he said.

For a while they just stood there with their arms around each other. A week had passed since that awful day. They had taken her to the house by the lake that Dean had told her about. It sure was beautiful. She had been offered her own room while she stayed there but she had ended up crawling into Dean's bed every night. Nothing sexual though. She was just too scared to be alone and somehow it comforted her to fall asleep in his arms. But now that was over. He was sending her away.

"Why can't I just stay here?" She asked as she pushed herself out of his arms again to dry her eyes.  
"We've already been over this. This is no life for someone like you," he answered.  
"How would you know? I've seen so much death and destruction when I was with Bray. I can handle it," she said.  
"And that's exactly why you shouldn't see more of it," he said.

They both turned their heads by the sound of a car honking.

"Your cab's here," he said as he took her hand and escorted her to the door.  
"Will you be watching me?" She asked.  
"No, princess, I'm not gonna track you anymore. You should be free to live without ever having to look over your shoulder," he answered.  
"But I might get into trouble," she said.  
"I'm expecting you to," he laughed.  
"Fine, I'll go," she pouted.

She walked down to put her bag in the trunk and then walked over to the passenger side. She opened the door but stopped and looked back up at him. She could see he was struggling with holding the tears back just like she was.

"I forgive you, Dean. I forgive you all," she said and smiled. "And I wish we could have created more sweet memories like that one... you know."

She got into the gab before he could even get a chance to understand what she had just said or respond to it at all. He watched her drive away, watched her disappear out of his life. With a sigh he walked back inside and straight to the control room in the basement.

"What are you doing?" Seth asked two hours later as he joined Dean down there.  
"Watching her," Dean answered.

Seth looked at the screen where they both could see she was out shopping for groceries.

"I'm a creep. I told her I wouldn't watch her but I can't help it," Dean said and looked up at Seth.  
"I think she knows," Seth chuckled and pointed at the screen.

Dean looked back at it and couldn't help but smile as he watched her wave at the camera before turning around and walking out of the supermarket. Yeah, she definately knew, that was for sure.

"Why did you let her go?" Seth asked.  
"How could I make her stay here after everything we put her through?" Dean asked.  
"It seemed like she wanted to stay," Seth said.  
"She did. She told me. She also said she forgave us," Dean said.  
"And you still let her go?" Seth asked surprised.  
"How could I look at her everyday without feeling bad about what we did?" Dean asked.  
"You're still looking at her!" Seth raised his voice and pointed at the screen again. "And I know you ain't gonna stop doing that."

Seth was right. Dean wasn't gonna stop. For almost a month he hacked into different security cameras and followed her around. She seemed to live a quiet life. She mostly stayed home at the old lady's house, the room he had found for her. He had chosen that place since it was placed across from a bank and he could watch the front door of the house from the bank's security camera, watch her come and go.

After two weeks she had stopped waving at the cameras. She wasn't even looking at them anymore. She didn't seem happy. She just seemed to survive like everyone else around her. It wasn't what he wanted to see. He wanted to see her happy, see her find a job, see her get friends and maybe even a boyfriend at some point. Someone he could watch and make sure would never hurt her or else he would come running. But she never did any of that. She just walked around, shopped from time to time, took some one day trips, but mostly she stayed home, away from the cameras, away from him.

"Thank you so much for letting me stay here, Karen. You've been very kind," Brandy said to the old lady.  
"You sure you wanna move? I've enjoyed your company very much," Karen said.  
"I'm sure. It's time for me to move on. I can't take my bags with me right now but I've arranged for someone to come pick them up tomorrow. I hope that's okay," Brandy said.  
"Of course, dear," Karen said.

Dean watched as a cab pulled up in front of the house. A few seconds later she came out of the front door and entered the cab. Nothing unusual in that. He'd seen her take cabs from time to time. Sometimes she would visit museums in other towns. He would follow her around, look at the same paintings and sculptures as she did. He followed the cab for as long as he could down the main roads. Once it drove out of town to the smaller roads, he couldn't follow anymore. He just had to wait till she came back home.

"It's old but it still runs," the man said as he showed the car to her.  
"I'll take it. I just need it to last for one trip anyway," she said.

Dean didn't sleep that night. She didn't come back home as he had expected. He knew she wasn't a social butterfly so she wouldn't be out partying somewhere. He was worried something might have happened to her. Early in the morning a car pulled up with an advertising for a recycling shop painted on the side. A woman stepped out and rang the door bell. After a couple of minutes she walked towards the car with some bags in her hands. Not just any bags, Brandy's bags. He knew everything she owned and those bags were hers.

"Princess, princess, princess..." He said lowly as he started going through security cameras in the next town over. "Now, why would you run and hide like that? You know I'm gonna find you."

"I found her!" Dean roared around three weeks later.  
"About time. Where is she?" Roman asked.  
"You're not gonna believe it. She fucking backtracked. I didn't think she would be that dumb. Come to think about it, she was actually smart since I never thought she'd do that," Dean said.  
"I'm not following. Where is she?" Roman asked again.  
"She's back where we first found her," Dean laughed.  
"At the mansion?" Seth asked.  
"I guess she's living there again but I can't be sure. I found her at the gentleman's club and I've seen her around town when she goes shopping," Dean answered.  
"Definately the mansion. Where else would she be?" Roman asked.  
"I'm about to find out. She's done being a fantasy," Dean said.  
"To the men at the club or to you?" Roman asked and smirked.  
"You're going after her?" Seth asked.  
"Of course he is," Roman said and chuckled. "You want us to come with you?"  
"No, I got this. How hard can it be?" Dean asked.  
"Must I remind you what happened the first time we went there?" Seth laughed.

Two days later Dean found himself hiding in the darkness in the forest, watching the mansion again. He knew she was in there. He could feel it. It was dark and he wondered if she was a work. A light got turned on in a window on the first floor and he couldn't help but feel he was being taken back to the first time. Silently he made his way to the front door. As expected it was locked but he picked it easily.

"Come to daddy," he whispered once again as he stepped inside the house.

He quietly made his way up the stars and down the hall. He turned the corner to see the light coming from the bathroom. It was like being thrown back in time. He made his way there to see a black dress lying on top of the lid to the toilet just like the last time. He smirked as he stepped into the bathroom, expecting to see her standing in her underwear in front of the mirror. No one was there. He suddenly felt uneasy and for the first time he regretted going there alone. What if it was a setup? What is she was mad at him for pushing her back out in the world and wanted revenge?

He turned around and slowly started creeping back down the hall again. He entered every room he passed, looking around for someone or something, but he found nothing and nobody. It wasn't until he found himself standing in what had to be her bedroom that everything changed. He stood in the room and looked at the bed she would sleep in night after night without him and suddenly he felt someone was in the room with him, someone was standing behind him, _she_ was standing behind him.

"Took you long enough," she said.  
"You set me up," he said with a smirk.  
"Yeah," she admitted.  
"You knew I would track you down if you disappeared and come running to see if you were okay," he said.  
"You regret coming here?" She asked.

He spun around and looked at her standing in a black set of underwear in the darkness. He felt drawn to her right away. He always had but he couldn't keep it contained inside any longer. With three quick steps he closed the gab between them, wrapped his arms around her, pushed her up against the wall and crashed his lips against hers.

"No," he answered her question as he kissed her.

He pulled her away from the wall and walked backwards until his legs connected with the bed. He let himself fall down on it, taking her down with him in the fall so she landed on top of him. He kissed her again as he opened the bra and slid it down her arms. He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her around on her back so that he was on top. She grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it somewhere on the floor.

"I'm sorry," he muttered as he kissed her down her neck.  
"Stop apologizing for old memories and give me some new and better ones," she said.

She heard him chuckle as he went to stand on the floor again. He grabbed her thong and pulled it down her legs. He kicked off his shoes and quickly got out of his jeans, socks and boxers.

He dropped to his knees by the edge of the bed, grabbed her thighs to pull her close and buried his face between her legs. The smell and taste of her was enough to make him rock hard and when she came from his tongue's assault, he couldn't hold back a growl on his own. He was fast to get back to his feet. He grabbed her around the waist and yanked her back up the bed before settling his body between her legs and kissing her neck again.

"Come on, Dean," she begged and pushed up towards him.  
"Just enjoying the moment before I ravage you completely," he said jokingly.  
"Will you just fuck me already?" She pleaded.  
"Yes, princess, I will," he said as he pushed himself inside her, repeating his words with each hard thrust into her. "Over... and over... and over again."

If he could, he would have continued all night. He had to give up after making her cum two more times. He couldn't hold back any longer himself. She felt too good and he released himself inside her with a primal growl.

"Fucking hell, princess," he chuckled as he rolled down next to her.  
"Yeah, that was totally a good memory we just created," she giggled.  
"Best thing is that Roman and Seth weren't here to walk in on us and ruin it," he said.

He pulled her in for another kiss. He could get lost in the taste of her lips forever.

"However, that will change soon," he said as he pulled his head back out a little.  
"How so?" She asked.  
"Because you're coming home with me. Pack your stuff and we'll be on the road right away," he answered.  
"What if I don't wanna go back this time?" She asked.  
"Oh, you do," he laughed and kissed her again. "I should never have let you leave in the first place. Besides, where are you gonna go? I'm gonna track you down all over the world if I have to."  
"Yeah, you're right. Might as well take the easy road and just come along," she said.  
"Such a good girl," he said.  
"But for the record, I don't want to," she said.  
"Of course not," he said.

They both burst out laughing and he pulled her back into his arms, kissing her again, running his fingers down her back, feeling and tasting every part of her he could get his hands and tongues on.

"In all seriousness, do you wanna come with me? I don't wanna force you or anything," he said.  
"Why the hell do you think I went back here and had you tracking me down all over again? I had to wake you up somehow. I missed you," she said.  
"I never stopped watching you," he admitted.  
"I know. I could always feel it," she said.  
"And you don't think I'm a creepy stalker?" He asked.  
"Yeah, I do but I don't mind as long as you're my creepy stalker," she answered.

He chuckled and got out of bed, helping her up from it in the process. She turned on the light and he sucked in his breath as he watched her start packing while still being naked. He could most definately get used to watching her in front of him like that. He got dressed himself and walked out in the hall to make a phone call.

"Hello?" Roman's voice sounded.  
"It's Dean," he said.  
"Hey Dean, what's up?" Roman asked.  
"I'm bringing her home," Dean answered.  
"He's bringing her home!" Roman shouted in the other end.  
"Finally!" Seth's voice shouted back.


End file.
